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bemildred

(90,061 posts)
Tue Mar 22, 2016, 02:24 PM Mar 2016

The pressure is building on the Golan Heights

Following the resolution of a permit issue, Afek Oil & Gas, a subsidiary of American company Genie Energy, has resumed efforts to verify whether or not commercially viable options for oil extraction exist within the Golan Heights region. These drillings are anything but routine, as years of conflict and contestation over the plateau – which was seized by Israel in 1967 – have lead to profound disagreement over the territory’s sovereignty.

As Afek works to uncover what could be a step towards energy independence for Israel, the Israeli leadership is lobbying the United States to change its historical position that the region belongs to Syria. They want the US to support Israel’s strategic interests in and claims to the Golan Heights, including the development of its natural resources. With the worsening situation in Syria and the need for Syrian rebel support, the United States and the rest of the international community have a delicate task ahead in dealing with the Golan Heights, however, it is likely that Israel will eventually have its way.

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What to expect?

Afek Oil & Gas’s list of advisors reads more like a shortlist of the next American President’s cabinet and includes former vice-president, Dick Cheney, former treasury secretary Larry Summers, former energy secretary Bill Richardson, and James Woolsey, a former CIA director. They will continue their efforts and, if successful, they will help create the momentum needed to advance Israel’s strategic agenda in the region by capitalizing on the close connections to Washington and the influence of its advisors.

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However, in the longer term, if the situation in Syria becomes calmer, instead of a bona fide acknowledgment by the international community we may simply see a continuation of the status quo: little is being done to oppose the actions or interests of Israel within the Golan Heights region, which in effect would lead to the eventual sourcing of oil by Afek.

http://globalriskinsights.com/2016/03/pressure-building-golan-heights/

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